Alt-J Left Hand Free- Music Video Analysis

I Chose to analyse this video because I really enjoyed the natural almost VLOG style to the piece and felt this gave a really nice feel to the piece which links to the song itself. The video looks effortless which matches the tempo and feel to the song being quite slow and peaceful. I really love how the story line helps reinforce this and create a real positivity surrounding the song and its video which links to its primary purpose to market the video. It provides a setting in which the video should be watched giving the song very positive and warm connotations helping lead to its success. I also love the very simple and Linear narrative concept being very easy to follow and in contrast to the previous video I analysed does not seem to hide any storylines or hardships. The Video was created in 2014 and directed by English director Ryan Staake

Visuals and Lyric Relationship

In this video there is no direct link between the lyrics of the song and the video narrative. Not once does the song really connect with the video which creates a greater emphasis on the visual elements as we as a viewer attempt to piece together a purely visual story as it seems the song its self does not contain a narrative within the lyrics. The visuals however do match the mood of the lyrics and the theme of freedom which is explored throughout the entire video. The Video is an exploration of youth freedom something also referenced in the song. The instrumental of the song has a very mellow feel throughout and never seems to become high intensity which is reflected in the visuals through an extensive use of slow motion which creates a very tranquil and hyper real feel to the video almost like it is a series of fond memories a subject s trying to remember in vivid detail. The colour grade also reflects the tranquil nature of the video making use of a very vintage look. The colour uses a teal shadow tint and a more orange highlight tint this helps to contrast to the skin tones to create a very colourised feel which connotes positivity and gives a warm feel around the video. It creates a vibrant viewer experience helping to address the target audience being youths who perhaps are more interested in the video's content and style. 

Representations

The video explores mainly one representation which is youth. The video focuses heavily on youth making the most of the natural world and shows this in positive light which contrasts to societies perception of youth. This would enhance the audience appeal as it shows no controversy as the youths are clearly just having a good time and doing so in a very clean and safe manor. It also shows youth as a very joyful experience which would help bring positivity surrounding the song encouraging people to purchase the song.  A message from the video would be to make the most of your time with the people you enjoy being around and to take time to appreciate the world around you. Themes of innocence and fun are projected throughout to create a very easy watch which would help to motivate and bring positivity to the viewers life with an aim to inspire. There are also various examples throughout the video of the protagonists performing stunts which helps to keep the video very lively and interesting but also helps to show maybe older viewers that the youth are a very interesting group of people and still have motivation to do things and work hard to achieve this once again contrasting to the typical stereotype of the youth culture being violent and disrespectful. The video explores multiple youth cultures and even some of which (underground car meet) would be considered dangerous and usually associated with illegal activities. All cultures throughout are explored with positivity and expressed for the true cultures that lie within and this is transitioned through the piece through the gradual addition of mise en scene, for example the Corvette shot just before the car meet helps to create seamless transitions and also shows the youth as being all for one and almost like a large family with similar interests and shows no conflict between them.  

Director Style

For this video I think its very important to recognise the directors style of shooting to create a very involved piece for us as a viewer and why he does this. The style of the video seems to consist of purely handheld shots that are not always compositionally correct. I feel Staake does this to really involve us as a viewer and feel almost like we are involved in the video as oppose to seeing another cinematic masterpiece. The shots being handheld take a more documentary approach which is only brought cinematic appearance through the extensive use of slow motion allowing us to take in the elements of each shot giving our eyes more time to explore the scene and people and therefore the mood surrounding each shot or scene. The video takes on a style almost as if it is being shot by one of the many protagonists and appears very raw which once again makes us feel within the video giving a more direct connection with us as a viewer linking us more personally to the song. This is a common occurrence in the British indie genre as more often than not the music video budgets are limited due to it not being a mainstream style of music however the genre also often creates very raw and almost home made looking videos and this is also a theme throughout the work of Alt-J until some of their more recent works which take on a more organised and planned approach to the final piece. I feel the style of the video truly establishes it for what it is and really creates the true original style and impact of the video. 

Looking Mode of Address

To further the viewer involvement often first person perspective shots have been used to create a direct and unavoidable contact between the viewer and the protagonists. The point of view shots have been introduced by the director to really reinforce that homemade feel and make us as a viewer feel a key element to the storyline and thus a connection to the song. Viewer interaction is a great part of a Linear narrative story as it really helps to maintain connection and commitment to the video meaning a greater proportion of the song is listened too and appreciated.

To conclude I feel this is a really great raw and realistic video which connoted only positivity and Staake's aim to incorporate and inundate the viewer in this positivity really helps to draw an interest to the sound track establishing a backdrop to the audio which will forever be related too by the viewer on hearing this song.